--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world and reason are not problems…" description: "\"“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no question of dissol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg" --- # The world and reason are not problems; and though we might… ![“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no question of dissolving it through some ‘solution,’ it is beneath the level of solutions.” quote by Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg) > ““The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no question of dissolving it through some ‘solution,’ it is beneath the level of solutions.”” [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reason and mystery coexist; attempts to fully resolve mystery with rational solutions miss their essence. **In simple terms:** Mystery and reason are intertwined. Key Takeaway Accept that some questions remain unresolved. Themes mystery reason limits of knowledge Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific inquiry - spiritual contemplation - creative problem solving Key Concepts philosophical humility epistemic boundaries Questions to Reflect On - What mysteries do you cherish? - How do you balance logic and wonder? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on rationalism can stifle intuition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Problem solving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-solving/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [At last, the answer why. The lesson that had been so hard to find, so difficult to learn, came quick and clear and simple.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/at-last-the-answer-why-the-lesson-that-had-been-so-hard-to-find-so/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [“The devil is the reason for all the problems we have in the society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-devil-is-the-reason-for-all-the-problems-we-have-in-the-society/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Some mathematics problems look simple, and you try them for a year or so, and then you try them for a hundred years, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wiles/some-mathematics-problems-look-simple-and-you-try-them-for-a-year-or-2/) [Andrew Wiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wiles/) > [Never let your heart take precedence over reason, otherwise you will have problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-houston/never-let-your-heart-take-precedence-over-reason-otherwise-you-will/) [Whitney Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-houston/) > [The world of reason is to be regarded as a great and immortal being, who ceaselessly works out what is necessary, and so makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-world-of-reason-is-to-be-regarded-as-a-great-and-immortal-being/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We cannot escape the clear fact that what is going to win in this world is reason, if this ever becomes a reasonable world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/we-cannot-escape-the-clear-fact-that-what-is-going-to-win-in-this/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The world has no reason for fighting in our defense, and as a matter of principle God does not make cowardly nations free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-world-has-no-reason-for-fighting-in-our-defense-and-as-a-matter/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [“Do some good in the world for no other reason than wanting to be part of the solution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/do-some-good-in-the-world-for-no-other-reason-than-wanting-to-be-part/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [“We have all been brought into the world for some reason, and we must wonder why and hope to learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/we-have-all-been-brought-into-the-world-for-some-reason-and-we-must/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“This world, in which reason is more and more at home, is not habitable. It is hard and cold like those depots in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-levinas/this-world-in-which-reason-is-more-and-more-at-home-is-not-habitable/) [Emmanuel Lévinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-levinas/) > [Passion and prejudice govern the world; only under the name of reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/passion-and-prejudice-govern-the-world-only-under-the-name-of-reason/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [The rich world likes and wishes to believe that someone, somewhere, is doing something for the Third World. For this reason, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-rich-world-likes-and-wishes-to-believe-that-someone-somewhere-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The Jewish nation is indeed, the heart of the world and there is no reason for the existence of empires, kings, rulers, masses or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/the-jewish-nation-is-indeed-the-heart-of-the-world-and-there-is-no/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/let-us-fight-to-free-the-world-to-do-away-with-national-barriers-to/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [But the world itself has no reason, and I can say so, I who have experienced it all, from the creation to the destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/but-the-world-itself-has-no-reason-and-i-can-say-so-i-who-have/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More by Maurice Merleau-Ponty > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The unfinished nature of phenomenology and the inchoate style in which it proceeds are not the signs of failure; they were inevitable because phenomenology’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-unfinished-nature-of-phenomenology-and-the-inchoate-style-in/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We should be sensitive to the thread of silence from which the tissue of speech is woven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-should-be-sensitive-to-the-thread-of-silence-from-which-the-tissue/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Man is hidden, well hidden, & this time we must make no mistake about it: this does not mean that he is there beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/man-is-hidden-well-hidden-this-time-we-must-make-no-mistake-about-it/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There is no universal clock, but local histories take form beneath our eyes, and begin to regulate themselves, and haltingly are linked to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-is-no-universal-clock-but-local-histories-take-form-beneath-our/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We know not through our intellect but through our experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-know-not-through-our-intellect-but-through-our-experience/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There are several ways for a body to be a body, and several ways for consciousness to be consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-are-several-ways-for-a-body-to-be-a-body-and-several-ways-for/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“We do not have the right to level out all experience into a single world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-level-out-all-experience-into-a-single/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Memory is the irruption of other things in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/memory-is-the-irruption-of-other-things-in-us/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Expression is like a step taken in the fog--no one can say where, if anywhere, it will lead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/expression-is-like-a-step-taken-in-the-fog-no-one-can-say-where-if/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Any commemoration is also a betrayal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/any-commemoration-is-also-a-betrayal/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [The full meaning of a language is never translatable into another. We may speak several languages but one of them always remains the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-full-meaning-of-a-language-is-never-translatable-into-another-we/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [ Our view of man will remain superficial so long as we fail to go back to that origin \[of silence\], so long as we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/our-view-of-man-will-remain-superficial-so-long-as-we-fail-to-go-back/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Said by whom? Said to whom? Not by a mind to a mind, but by a being who has body and language to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/said-by-whom-said-to-whom-not-by-a-mind-to-a-mind-but-by-a-being-who/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) [Explore all 145 Maurice Merleau-Ponty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## More Mysterious quotes > [The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/the-creator-of-the-universe-works-in-mysterious-ways-but-he-uses-a/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I've come to believe that whoever I am didn't start on December 14, 1946, and isn't going to end on whatever that mysterious date…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-whoever-i-am-didn-t-start-on-december-14/) [Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [I have thought that wild flowers might be the alphabet of angels, — whereby they write on hills and fields mysterious truths, which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-have-thought-that-wild-flowers-might-be-the-alphabet-of-angels/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“And when I’d settled down, I considered the possibility that I wasn’t yet ready to ask for the love of anyone because I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/and-when-i-d-settled-down-i-considered-the-possibility-that-i-wasn-t/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) > [Talking to other people about a part is not helpful for me. It's such an internal and complicated and still kind of mysterious process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/talking-to-other-people-about-a-part-is-not-helpful-for-me-it-s-such/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [A blue eye is a true eye; Mysterious is a dark one, Which flashes like a spark sun! A black eye is the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rounseville-alger/a-blue-eye-is-a-true-eye-mysterious-is-a-dark-one-which-flashes-like/) [William Rounseville Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rounseville-alger/) > [Songwriting is such a mysterious thing. Its a magical channel thats a gift to you and you cant really conjure it up when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-campbell/songwriting-is-such-a-mysterious-thing-its-a-magical-channel-thats-a/) [Mike Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-campbell/) > [War is thus divine in itself, since it is a law of the world. War is divine through its consequences of a supernatural nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-de-maistre/war-is-thus-divine-in-itself-since-it-is-a-law-of-the-world-war-is/) [Joseph de Maistre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-de-maistre/) > [I just like guys who have an edge to them. But it could go either way. Like, I have been into the surfer blond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/i-just-like-guys-who-have-an-edge-to-them-but-it-could-go-either-way/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) [Browse all 1,858 Mysterious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no question of dissolving it through some ‘solution,’ it is beneath the level of solutions.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Merleau-Ponty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mysterious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e4/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_mysterious_the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-an_166634.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential…” — Maurice Merleau-Ponty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maurice Merleau-Ponty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The world and reason are not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```